by Adams,Claire
The room was full of movement and motion as the rescuers carted off the injured. One of the police officers pushed us off to the side and told us to stay put while they evaluated the scene. Cece and I took one look at each other and knew that we were going to have to find a way to take advantage of the chaos and slip out the lab door. We both watched as the investigating officers began sizing up the scene, and then I asked if I could use the bathroom. The first officer said no, but when Cece made a fuss about how I had been kidnapped and held hostage, he gave in and told us to come right back. We nodded, headed toward the bathroom and then took a sharp right turn at the end of the hallway and hightailed it for the back stairway.
"Cece, the second guy escaped," I said as we pushed through the door. "He's going to come after me."
"Nah, not after I winged him," she said in a confident tone that I knew was designed to reassure me rather than speak the truth. She pointed out how she'd spray painted the cameras, and I laughed when I saw that she'd used silver sparkle spray paint to do the dirty work.
We were breathing heavily by the time we reached the bottom floor, and pushed our way into Butch's office. He'd left the door open when he'd come to check on the commotion in the lab, which made me breathe a sigh of relief that we wouldn't have to break in. We'd done enough damage already.
I searched under the desk, pulling out boxes of old security tapes until I found one that looked out of place. It was a new box that was marked, "SAI 001_DON_AR." I pulled the lid off and inside found a hard drive with a handwritten note taped to it.
Ms. Frost,
If you are holding this, then I am dead. Please get this to Commander Arvin Donnelly 207 W. 24th Street. It is of the utmost importance that he receives this ASAP. He is expecting you. Put this in his hands only. No one else's.
Regards,
Dr. Alan Powell
P.s. Please tell my son I am sorry, and that I have always been proud of him.
"Oh God," I said as I held the drive and note out for Cece to read. "We need to get to find this Commander Donnelly. Now."
"Got it," Cece said turning toward the back door. "Follow me, chica!"
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Ryan
I felt like I was swimming up through murky water even though I could feel my lungs struggling to pull in air. As I raised my hand and tried to push whatever it was that was obscuring my vision out of my way, someone pushed my hand back down.
"Easy, Lieutenant," a firm voice said. "You're okay, you're just waking up from anesthesia."
"Huh?" I said as I again tried to raise my hand to push the darkness away from my eyes. Again, I was met with resistance. "Stop it! What are you doing?"
"Just take it easy," the voice said as a hand held my wrist. "I'm checking your pulse right now. You've had surgery, Lieutenant. You're in recovery."
The voice waited a few seconds for the words to sink in and then let go of my arm. I lay still trying to process what I'd heard.
"What happened?" I croaked as I tried to open my eyes again. "Where am I?"
"You were shot, and you're in the hospital," the voice replied as it started to sound clearer. I could tell that the person speaking to me was a woman, a nurse.
"Who shot me?" I groaned as a wave of pain washed over me.
"We have no idea," she said as she adjusted something near my right arm. "What's your level of pain, Lieutenant?"
"Ryan," I croaked. "Call me Ryan. I'm off duty."
"Okay, Ryan," she said and I could hear a smile in her voice. "Then tell me what your level of pain is, Ryan."
"Not too bad," I replied as I wondered how I could get myself out of here and back to finding Echo. "Where's Echo? Where's Cece?"
"I'm sorry?" the nurse said. "Who are they?"
"With me," I groaned as I tried to move my arms so that I could push myself up into a sitting position. I quickly discovered that my arms were not working. "They were with me. Where are they?"
"I don't know," the nurse said. "But I'll try to find out if you promise me that you won't keep moving around. You just got out of surgery, Ryan. You were shot and they had to remove a bullet from your abdomen. You're so lucky that it didn't do any major damage. You must have an angel on your shoulder."
"I need Echo," I said staring at the nurse.
"Promise me that you will not try to move around and I'll go get someone to find her," she said returning my laser like stare. She waited and then said, "If you get up and try to move around you will pull out the stitches the surgeon put in and you'll bleed out before I can get back and help you. Promise me."
"Fine," I groaned as I lay still. "I promise."
"I'm taking you at your word, Lieutenant," she said as she headed for the door.
"Ryan, it's just Ryan," I called after her.
A few minutes later, the door opened, but instead of the nurse it was Commander Donnelly.
"Lieutenant," he said as he walked toward me.
"Sir," I replied as I tried to salute out of habit and found the pain too intense. "I'm sorry, sir."
"Son, you're in surgical recovery, there's no sorry necessary," he chuckled as he pulled up a chair and sat down near me. "How are you feeling, Lieutenant?"
"I'm fine, sir," I said. "Never been better."
"Ah, still have your sense of humor," he smiled. "That's good because you're going to need it as you recover. What were you doing, Lieutenant?"
"I'm sorry, sir?" I asked knowing what he was asking but stalling for time in order to figure out how to respond.
"You heard me," he said. "What were you doing when you got shot, Lieutenant?"
"Trying to help a friend, sir," I admitted. It was an honest answer, but one that didn't give much away, and he knew it.
"Son, I have heard a whole lot of bullshit in my career, so you can cut out the evasive maneuvers and get to the truth," he said sternly. He reminded me of my father the way he cut to the chase and somehow already knew the truth. I didn't want to tell him what I'd been doing because I was afraid it would get me kicked out of the Navy.
"Sir, I was helping rescue a friend who'd been kidnapped," I said in a voice as official as the circumstances would allow, then groaned as I felt the pain returning to my left side.
"Lieutenant Powell, we can sit here and go round and round with me asking questions and you barely answering them," he said leaning forward. "Or you can spill the entire story and save us both the time and breath. Which is it going to be?"
"Sir, my father left information for a friend of mine and someone kidnapped her to try and get it," I said trying to give him the story in as few words as possible. "In the process of rescuing her from the kidnappers, I was shot by one of them. That's the whole story in a nutshell."
"Where is this friend now?" the Commander asked.
"That's what I keep asking," I winced as I a sharp pain shoot through my left side again. "I don't know where she is. I'm worried that they did something to her."
"What is your friend's name, Lieutenant," he asked as he pulled his cell phone from the inside of his jacket.
"Echo," I exhaled trying to keep the pain at bay, but failing and emitting a groan.
"Echo? Echo Frost?" he asked in an urgent tone. "Is your friend Echo Frost, Lieutenant?"
"Uh huh, that's her, sir," I grunted as the pain swept over me and I began to moan. The nurse returned as the first sounds left my lips.
"Ryan, I told you not to move around!" she said moving toward the pump that held my fluids and pain medications. She fiddled with the dials and suddenly the pain receded a bit, like the tide moving back out. "Is that better?"
"Uh huh," I nodded as I felt the pain medication flowing through my veins and loosening my clenched muscles. "Much better."
"You've got a button here," she said shaking her head as she dug the sensor out of the sheets and tucking it into my right hand. "Press the button when you need more pain relief. Don't be the hero right now. Pain will not help you recover more quickly."
"Son, I'll find her," the Commander said as he tapped the screen of his phone and dialed a number.
"I've got someone looking for her, too," the nurse added. "Between the two of us, we'll find her."
"I...," I said as the pain relievers did their job and carried me out like the tide.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Echo
As Cece drove the van toward the address on the top of the hard drive, I turned on my phone and hit redial on the message that Commander Donnelly had left on my phone.
"Dammit," I muttered when the call went to his voicemail. "He's not answering. Why isn't he picking up?"
"Perhaps he's on another call?" Cece suggested. "Or maybe he doesn't know it's you?"
"Of course he knows it's me!" I said. "He's called me telling me it's important that I get back to him!"
"Oh, I see," Cece said. "I did not know this bit of information. Why didn't you tell me, chica?"
"I forgot," I admitted sheepishly.
"You forgot that a Commander from the United States Navy was calling you asking you to call him back?" she asked in a tone that told me what she was really thinking.
"I got caught up in the drama over the files Dr. Powell was sending me," I said.
"And perhaps his handsome son?" she added.
"Cece!" I protested. "I was trying to do the right thing!"
"Uh huh, sure," she nodded as she made a turn onto 24th Avenue and pulled up next to the Navy Recruiting Headquarters. "Chica, that boy has it bad for you. Really bad."
"No, he doesn't!" I retorted. "He doesn't even know I'm alive. To him I'm just a computer programmer who worked for his dad and has the information he needs. He doesn't see me as a woman at all!"
"Girl, you are an idiot," Cece said shaking her head. "That boy is head over heels for you and you keep ignoring him. Of course he's going to act like he's not interested! It's self preservation!"
"Cece, he's had every opportunity to make a move for the past week," I said building my case. "And he's done nothing. Nada. Zero. Zip. Not even the slightest move in my direction. He's stayed totally professional and not given me so much as a hint that he's interested."
"Then why don't you give him a signal that you're interested?" she asked.
"I can't believe we're having this conversation," I sighed as I got out of the van and headed for the front door of the recruiting station. I turned and yelled, "Be right back!"
The station was just opening, and I realized that it was only seven in the morning. It was unlikely that Commander Donnelly was in his office already, but I decided it was worth a try. At the very least, I could get someone to tell me when he was expected in the office.
I raced up the stairs and found a pretty little brunette sitting behind the desk in the outer office.
"Commander Donnelly?" I shouted as I headed toward her.
"Ma'am, are you okay?" she asked. The look on her face was one of surprise and then horror.
"I'm fine! Where's the Commander?" I said more urgently.
"He's...he's...he's not in yet," she stammered as her eyes grew wider. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, why?" I said irritated that she'd ask such a ridiculous question when I was trying to find the Commander.
"Ma'am, you're covered in blood," she whispered. "Are you sure you're okay?"
I looked down and saw that my shirt and pants were soaked in Ryan and Butch's blood. I looked up at her and then reached up to touch my face wondering if it, too, was covered in the same blood. Then I started laughing.
"It's not mine!" I laughed as she reached for the phone. "No! Don't call anyone! I'm fine! I don't have time to explain, but I'm fine and I haven't done anything wrong. I need to find the Commander and deliver something to him personally."
"Ma'am, why don't you leave whatever it is here with me and I'll give it to the Commander when he comes in?" she said with wary helpfulness.
"No! I have to give it directly to the Commander," I said shaking my head. "No one else."
"Um, okay," she said without taking her eyes off of me. It suddenly occurred to me that I looked like someone who was trying to harm the Commander and that she might have already alerted security.
"Look, I'm not crazy and I don't want to harm the Commander," I said seriously. "I have a package for him from Dr. Alan Powell and I was told that it has to be given directly to Commander Donnelly and no one else. Okay? Can you tell him that I have this package for him?"
"Yes," she nodded as I headed back out the front door of the office. As I entered the stairwell, I heard her yelling, "Who are you?"
I didn't have time to stop, so I trusted that if she told Commander Donnelly what I'd said, he'd know exactly who I was.
#
"He's not in," I said as I got back into the van. "But I gave his secretary a message."
"And a heart attack?" Cece asked as she looked me over.
"Why didn't you tell me I looked like a stabbing victim?" I asked.
"You didn't exactly give me time to evaluate your fashion sense," she said dryly. "What now?"
"Back to my place and clean up?" I suggested. "Otherwise we're going to have a ton of problems over at the hospital."
"Yeah, they'd probably throw us on gurneys and haul us into the ER," she said as she shifted the van into drive and headed toward home.
"More like they'd immediately know who we are and toss us in a cop car," I said. "Cece, did it ever occur to you that they think we did it?"
"Why would they think that?" she replied.
"Reason number one, we left," I said. "They're going to be looking for us."
"Then we need to get the hard drive to the Commander and be done with it," she said. "But first, we clean up, and I need to get the van back to my guy before he puts a price on my head!"
Two hours later, after having cleaned up and returned the van, we were in a cab on our way to Bellevue.
"Why don't we stop by headquarters first and drop off the hard drive?" Cece asked as she looked out the window.
"Because we're going to get stopped and questioned," I said. "And I want to see Ryan before we do."
"Ah, yes, lover boy," she grinned as she turned and patted my head.
"No, he's a good guy," I grumbled. "I just want to make sure he's okay after everything he did to get me out of there."
"Mmmm hmmm," she nodded still grinning. "You keep telling yourself that and maybe one day it'll be true, chica."
"Why are you pushing?" I said shifting away from her and feeling irritated.
"Because it's so obvious that the two of you have the hots for each other, it's painful to watch," she said. "I can't figure out why you both keep denying it."
"Because he's not interested in me!" I said more forcefully than I'd intended.
"Uh, okay, I wouldn't agree with that," she shrugged as she moved back. "But obviously you know best, chica."
"I'm sorry, Cece," I said looking out my window and sighing heavily. "I've tried."
"Try again, chica," she said softly as she reached out and squeezed my hand as we pulled up to the front door of the hospital.
Cece went to the information desk and asked where Ryan was, but the receptionist told her she wasn't allowed to give out patient information without permission. Cece tried working her magic on the woman, but she wouldn't budge.
"Give me a minute, I'll figure something out," Cece said as she stepped outside and made a call on her cellphone.
"Excuse me, ma'am?" the receptionist called from across the lobby. "Are you Echo Frost?"
"Yes," I replied before I realized that maybe answering this question wasn't the best idea.
"You can go up and see Lieutenant Powell, ma'am," she said. "The nurse said he's asking for you. Room twelve thirty."
I motioned to Cece to come back inside, but she waved me off. So I told the receptionist to tell here where I'd gone when she came back in and headed to the bank of elevators off of the lobby. As
I stood waiting I felt a presence behind me. I started to turn around when I felt something hard and sharp being jabbed into my back.
"Don't turn around," the familiar voice hissed. "And don't scream or I will slide this knife in and twist."
I swallowed hard and nodded as I closed my eyes and hoped that Cece would show up before this ghost of a person got me alone in the elevator. I tried to keep my wits about me and think ahead, but the knife in my back made it extremely difficult to think. The doors to the elevator slid open and my captor shoved me forward.
"Don't turn around," the voice repeated. "You know what I want, so give it to me and this is over."
"I don't have it," I said trembling as I heard the ghost push a button and then pull the emergency stop lever. The elevator was immediately filled with the sound of the ringing alarm.
"I'm not kidding," the voice said as I felt a hand tightly wrapping around my neck and cutting off my air. "I want that hard drive and if I don't get it, there will be consequences."
"I don't have it," I repeated as I suddenly realized that if this was the same person that had held me hostage and attacked me in the lab, they had been weakened by the shot that Cece had fired. I couldn't remember which arm it had been in, but by the strength of the grip around my neck I was guessing it wasn't the right arm. I quickly formulated a plan and hoped I was right otherwise...I didn't want to think about otherwise.
"You stupid little bitch," the voice hissed as the owner pressed the knife into my back. The sharpness of the tip made me cry out as its holder squeezed tighter around my neck cutting off my air supply. I knew I had only one shot at this.
"Don't call me a bitch," I growled as I quickly pulled my right elbow forward and then slammed it backwards as hard as I could into the knife-holder's arm. My instincts had been right as the scream that came from the mouth of my captor rose above the sound of the alarm. What I hadn't counted on was the strength of the hold on my neck and the next thing I knew, everything went black.
